Classification

1. Classification The Big Idea

2. The Big Idea • Organisms are classified into groups based on their characteristics.

3. Vocabulary • Classification is putting things into orderly groups based on small characteristics. • Taxonomy is the science of describing, classifying and naming living things.

4. Vocab. Cont. • Dichotomous Key an aid that is used to identify organisms and that consists of the answers to a series of questions.

5. Why Classify? • Scientists classify organisms to help make sense and order of the many kinds of living things in the world.

6. Classification helps scientists answer 3 important questions • How many known species are there? • What are the defining characteristics of each species? • What are the relationships between species?

7. Imagine you are in a tropical rainforest and must get your own food, shelter, and clothing from the forest. • What do you need to know to survive.

9. How do scientists classify organisms? • At first organisms were divided into 2 groups Plants and Animals. • Scientist Carolus Linnaeus of Sweden founded modern taxonomy. • Today we use a system of classification that is very similar to that of Linnaeus.

10. Classification today • Taxonomists use an eight level system to classify living things: • Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species

11. Let’s classify a domestic cat • Kingdom: All animals are in the Kingdom Animalia • Phylum: have a hollow nerve cord. Most have a backbone. Chordata.

12. Class: Mammalia – have a backbone and nurse their young • Order: Carnivora – have a backbone, nurse their young, have special teeth for tearing meat.

13. Family: Felidae – have a backbone, nurse their young, have special teeth for tearing meat, have retractable claws • Genus: Felis – these cats cannot roar; they can only purr

14. Species: Felisdomesticus– Has all the previous traits but it also has unique traits.

15. Branching Diagrams